Tag: Communication

I was talking with my daughter recently and she shared with me that she is teaching my granddaughter about setting and respecting physical space limits.  My daughter didn’t use those specific words, but it is essentially what she was referring to.  It reminded me of the importance of setting clear boundaries with others and the important responsibility of keeping and respecting boundaries of others and of ourselves.  It is good to recognize that we all have limitations and recognizing that and putting healthy boundaries up helps us to thrive.

My granddaughter is learning about a physical boundary, but there are other areas we may want to consider when thinking of boundaries.  Areas that I have learned to value and protect with boundaries include financial, time, energy, and emotional boundaries.  These can change as our circumstances change, but it is good to know what boundary I need or want to be in place for the c ...

Spaghetti and Hurt Feelings

I am a pretty clumsy person. Like a keep-an-eye-on-me-around-closed-sliding-glass-doors, probably-should-never-eat-spaghetti-without-a-full-apron-on kind of person. Suffice it to say, my childhood nickname lauded my propensity to accumulate minor bumps and scrapes through incredible feats of un-coordination. I won’t tell you how old I was when I nearly broke my glasses walking into the corner of a doorway instead of through the doorway - although, to be perfectly clear, it was part of the transparent wall of a racquetball court…and that was the problem: it was perfectly clear.

Anyway, as my luck would have it, I’m also a pretty relationally-clumsy person. At times I completely miss that I have caused emotional discomfort or harm. I put my foot in my mouth routinely enough that I< ...

Let me start by asking a question.  How did you answer someone the last time they asked you how you were?  I bet I could venture a guess, and it may have sounded a little like this: “I’m fine."  Now, let me follow that question with another question.  How truthful were you in your response?  I am betting that most likely you may have disregarded your current emotion so you would not make someone else feel uncomfortable.  

In a society that has placed a strong emphasis on success, happiness, and reputation, it is often hard to feel safe to share our emotions honestly.  The point of this post is not to make you feel like you have to share your feelings with every person that asks; however, what I do hope it accomplishes is helping you to reflect on the truth that it is okay to not be okay!  

Unfortunate ...